Normal Never Exists
by This-Is-Just-a-Dream
Summary: All she wanted was a normal year, as normal a year could be for a spy in training. But when a group of terrorists strike the juniors find themselves on a mission that could save the world. They're spies, she should have known that normal never exists.
1. Chapter 1

**My first story =)**

**Disclaimer: Sorry to sadden you, but I am in no way, shape or form, Ally Carter. The characters and references to previous books all belong to her. I'm just a fan whose writing doesn't even compare.**

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**Chapter 1**

The warm sun filtered through the round window and caressed my cheek as I lay hidden in my favorite tower. I had been sitting here for hours basking in the sunlight and the last silence before my sisters returned home. My thoughts had been wandering all afternoon to and from my mom and headmistress, my friends, Liz, Bex, and Macey and finally to the events of last year.

Last year was anything but a normal school year. I was a sophomore and as a mission for Cov Ops my class and I had to tail a teacher in the nearby town of Roseville. While I was there, my "chameleon" status was broken when a particular teenage, non-spy, boy named Josh Abrams saw me. To say the least, I was, well, surprised. I began to date Josh creating a cover story for my life, but I had to break up with him. Then he found out I went to Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, saw me get "kidnapped" by Mr. Solomon, and drove a forklift through my final in order to try and "save" me. Well, my mom told him all about spy schools, but then gave him memory erasing tea to make him forget all he learned about the school. And that was only just the first semester.

The second semester began and right away we were sent on a mission to get to the ruby slipper exhibit at the Washington Mall without any tails. Well, we all failed the mission except for Anna, and were shocked to find out there was another spy school; not just any spy school either, a _boy spy school_. It turns out that the Blackthorne Academy came to Gallagher to do an exchange with the school, and they really left their mark. But one particular Blackthorne Boy left an imprint on my mind that has yet to be shaken; a boy by the name of Zach Goode.

I may go to a school for kick ass girl spies, have the ability to speak fourteen different languages, execute a perfect roundhouse kick, dismantle bombs, and keep a cover, but there is one aspect of life I have yet to figure out, and that is the boy species – especially when that boy is the infuriating, confusing, smart, smug, smirky, dark, complex, and hot Zachary Goode. Just when I thought I had him figured out his actions and personalities would once again change. The kid probably had freakin' multi-personality disorder for all I know. But in a way, that was what made him so great. He was an amazing spy, and although I would never admit it, I kind of fell for him. Hard. Then he had to go kiss me in the middle of the foyer on their last day and leave. Poof. Just like Glenda's bubble in _The Wizard of Oz_ or Cinderella's fairy godmother, he sparked into my life, made my head spin, and with the blink of an eye was gone. And I haven't heard from him since.

The sound of slamming car doors, squeals of joy, and the giggles of girls shot me back to reality as hundreds of Gallagher girls descended onto campus. I stood up and brushed off my skirt as I looked out the window for three Gallagher girls in particular. I scanned the crowd until I spotted a petite blonde with a giant grin spread across her pink face, a tall exotic girl with long dark hair, and a girl who looked like she had just stepped of the runway in Milan. My three best friends.

About a minute later (it was really a minute and thirteen seconds – thank you internal spy clock) I was back in my room. I was alerted of the presence of my friends when I heard a crash of a vase and Liz's trademark "Oopsie Daisy" from down the hall. I stood up to open the door at the exact moment that it flung open.

"Cammie!" Liz squealed as she dropped her bags to run and give me a hug.

"Liz!" I yelled as a smile played across my features. "How was your summer? I see you didn't get that sunburned" laughing as the words came out of my mouth.

"It was great Cam. I did the usual pool stuff but," she smirked, "I did crack some new codes at NASA. Something about a new top secret satellite. No biggie."

I was about to comment when I felt a presence behind me. Just then Bex and Macey tackled me with a bone crushing hug. Jeeze, they both got stronger over the summer. And seeing as I needed air I tried to push them away.

"Bex, Mace, it's good to see you and all but can't breathe over here" I managed to sputter out.

The two smiled. "Oops sorry Cammie. Good to see you is all" Bex said in her thick British accent. "How was your summer in Nebraska? Anything exciting happen?"

"Well if you can call scaling fish exciting, then yes, everyday just about" I looked at her as she dragged her suitcase to the bed. "What about you? Does the British bombshell have any exciting stories to tell?" I questioned using Grant's old nickname for her.

"Well, I got to go with my parents to retrieve stolen artwork in Africa."

"Bex that's awesome! You got to kick butt all summer long. Lucky little spy."

"Hey, it wasn't that exciting. My parents didn't even let me do any fighting. I had to observe. I think Macey here may have had the most exciting summer of us all though."

I sat down on my bed and watched as Macey's expression hardened, rolling her eyes in the process. "Ha. Exciting. Yeah right. If you call being dragged around on the campaign trail for endless hours a day fun or exciting. I think a root canal would have been more enjoyable" she stated, her voice thick with sarcasm.

"Aww Mace" Liz began "It honestly couldn't have been that bad. I mean you got to hang out with the Presidential candidate's son Derek, who by the way is kinda cute, everyday."

"Umm no. He is infuriating, and annoying, and…"

"And we should continue this later and get some food at the welcome back dinner" I interrupted.

My friends nodded their heads in agreement and quickly changed into their uniforms. We walked through the halls and I took a deep breath, happy to have them surrounding me. As we reached the dining hall I gave a small smile as I saw that tonight's language read, English-American. Even though I knew that was what it would say, it was just good to see that some things never change.

We walked into the hall amidst the laughter and chatter of girls back from summer vacation. My friends and I walked over to a table of juniors and I waved hello to Courtney, Kim, Anna, and Tina. Tina was just about to open her mouth, with the latest gossip no doubt, when my mom stood up at the podium.

An immediate hush fell across the hall as her sparkling eyes and amazing smile welcomed us back home. "Welcome girls to the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women" she began as the traditional greeting continued on.

"Now for some announcements. Seniors, after dinner I would like you to report to Sublevel three, even those on the research track. You will begin your most difficult year and it starts with a mission tomorrow. Mr. Solomon will give you all the information you need after dinner. Good luck"

"To the rest of you girls I would like to begin the year off on a good foot by allowing you some time to bond. With that being said tomorrow there will be no classes, but instead you can go and spend the day in Roseville. You may leave at eleven, seventh and eighth graders please return back by three, freshmen and sophomores by four, and juniors by five. I, along with your other teachers, am looking forward to a wonderful year filled with hard work, starting the day after tomorrow. Enjoy, have fun, and be safe. That is all" she said, smiling as she sat down to begin the meal.

While her talking had ceased an immediate excitement filled the air. Everyone was planning on what they would do on their day in town. My mind at once drifted to…

"Cammie? Earth to Cammie" Liz sang as she waved a hand in front of my face.

"What? Oh, sorry Liz. I must have zoned out for a minute. What did you say?"

"We were just wondering what you were going to do if you saw Josh. I mean, well, uh" she stuttered over the rest of her words.

"It's alright Liz. I was just beginning to think of that. I mean, I guess I'll say hi, but it will be kind of awkward. I'm gonna figure it out if it happens. It doesn't really matter anyways. I don't like him that way anymore" I shrugged as I took a bite of my steak. Mmm, welcome back dinner always has the best food.

As we settled into a comfortable silence Bex looked up with a hopeful glint in her eyes. "I hope something exciting happens this semester like the last two. Even though we've only been back for a few hours the year has too much of a feeling of normality. I want something brilliant to happen" she smiled as her words were met with nods of agreement from the rest of the table.

I just sat there and pushed pieces of light brown and golden blonde hair from my eyes and sighed. Unlike Bex, I though boring and normal couldn't sound any better. But I should have known better than to think like that. For the life of a spy, boring and normal were two words that would, no could, never exist.

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**Hey everyone, I'm This-Is-Just-A-Dream. I've been a long time reader, but used to post anonymously as Just a Dream. I made this account a few days ago. This is my first story, I would really appreciate it if you would tell me what you think. Should I continue, remove it? Is it good or bad? Let me know if you have the time. Also, I've read most of the stories under Gallagher Girls and while I created this plot on my own, if you think I'm heading too close to another story, please let me know so that I can try and make any necessary changes. Ok, well that's about it. So I hope you enjoy reading =)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Nope, sorry, nothing has changed since chapter 1. I'm still not Ally Carter.**

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**Chapter 2**

"Cameron Ann Morgan, if you do not wake up within the next fifteen seconds a bucket of ice water will be joining you in bed" Bex threatened.

I sighed and squinted open my eyes to see Bex hovering over me with a giant bucket and a mischievous glint in her eyes. I weighed my options of sleeping and being wet or waking up nice and dry. My thoughts were interrupted with a voice saying, "five seconds".

My eyes shot open. "Argh! I'm up! I'm up! No need to look at me like that it's kinda scary."

"Good, you're awake now" Bex smiled as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Now, go take a shower and Macey will lay out your clothes."

I sighed and dragged myself out of bed and into the bathroom. I took a long, hot steamy shower. It was the kind that could, for a moment, melt away all of my troubles by closing my eyes and letting the water pound over my body. I stepped out to see the clothes that Macey had chosen. I put on a pair of dark wash skinny jeans, a white printed tank top and a blue short sleeved cut-off sweater over it. I slipped into a comfy pair of flats and pushed my wavy hair back with a thin white headband.

I stepped out of the bathroom to see that my friends were ready and waiting. They were sitting on beanbag chairs looking at the latest Teen Vogue, courtesy of Macey McHenry.

"Ready girls?"

"Yup. Let's go grab a quick snack before we leave though I'm starving" Bex complained.

The four of us headed down the stairs and through the halls of Gallagher. Hundreds of girls had walked these very same halls over the ages. The building was old, but it didn't show in a bad way. The antique chandeliers, historic paintings, and warm glow casted by the lanterns along the wall just added to the character of it. Gallagher made me feel safe and at home. With its charm and age I knew that this feeling was shared by those who came before me. They may have physically left Gallagher, but their secrets and stories remain safe within these halls, just like their memories remain safe within their hearts.

We went to the dining hall and we all grabbed an apple and headed out. Walking across the lawn on the crisp fall day we waved hello to Bubblegum Guard as we stepped onto the road that led to Roseville.

Liz looked at us and asked, "So what should we do today?"

Macey, Bex and I shared a look and a grin as we shouted out "Movies!" at the exact same time. We broke into a fit of laughter over how well we knew each other. Linking arms the rest of the way to the theater we bought tickets to see _Transformers 2_. Shia LaBeouf , fighting and action, this was my kind of movie.

***

After the movie we had gone to get a late lunch at a quaint Italian restaurant. After eating, Macey dragged us into every store within a five mile radius. I honestly think she made me try on at least six prom dresses just, "for the fun of it". Well, after I got over the initial annoyance of having to try on an outfit I would never wear in my entire life, (Hello, I'm a chameleon! I don't really enjoy being noticed) it was actually kind of fun. And before we knew it, it was already four o'clock.

As we were walking to one of our last stores I felt a presence behind me. Using the window of a car I looked behind me to see a man in his early thirties about sixty feet back. He was wearing a red plaid shirt with a gray Northface jacket and a red baseball hat. Approximately five minutes ago he was wearing a blue tee shirt and a black baseball hat.

Bex looked at me out of the corner of her eye and whispered, "You see him too?"

"Yeah, he's definitely tailing us. I don't know who he is or why, but I don't exactly want to find out from him. We need to lose him and warn the others. It's a good thing that the other grades have already returned to Gallagher."

Since we weren't wearing comms I took out my cell phone and sent out a call to the entire junior class. Even though our phones are on a private network I decided not to risk any possible hacking and chose to speak in a code we all had created back in seventh grade. It was extremely childish, but it was effective.

When they all picked up I replied to their hellos, "Hey girls! Well B, M, L and I were just talking about our favorite movie. You know the one where those people are walking through the dark woods with those hot guys and get chased by that mutant fox? Yeah well we were wondering if anyone wanted to see it this weekend."

Alright, so in reality I was alerting them of the current situation. The girls walking in the dark stood for us, while the fox stood for a male tale (because foxes have bushy tails. Yes I know this is a ridiculously stupid code).

Just then Tina's voice squealed across the line, "OMG! We were just thinking about that movie" and I heard the agreement all around. Great, this means that they all have tails.

"Wait what? Oh, sorry T, M was just distracting me by singing Metro Station's 'Shake It' in my ear. But I heard you, so we'll talk to you later."

"Mkay! Bye C!"

By mentioning the song it told them to shake their tales and head back to Gallagher. I glanced behind me using a store window as I formulated a plan while Macey, Bex, and Liz acted as if nothing was going on. I don't think the tail realized that we noticed him, which is a good thing.

"Alright," I began taking a deep breath "We're going to have to split up. Macey will come with me" she nodded a quick yes, "and Bex, you and Liz will go together. He can only follow one group and whichever that is, lose him. The other will get back to school ASAP." I locked eyes with my friends and we nodded. Giving a quick hug to Bex and Liz, Macey and I took off in the direction of the library with the tail following us.

We put to use the counter surveillance techniques that we had learned in Solomon's class. We walked into an extremely girly clothing store, one that would make it obvious if there was a male in there. Our tail sat down on a bench outside and pretended to be reading a newspaper. After looking around for a few minutes we both bought black baseball hats with pink crowns on the front before slipping out among a large group of giggling teenage girls. We walked with the group until they began to disperse and then we made our way into the library.

We slipped into the old building, the smell of new and old books lingering in the air. The sunlight filtering through the windows reflected off the dust particles and cast a warm glow around the ground floor.

Macey turned to me, her mouth set in a thin line, "Which way?"

I nodded up. We weaved through the bookcases until reaching a hidden and unused staircase near the back of the library. We climbed the old stairs, praying that they wouldn't creak. Once we reached the third floor we walked at a quick pace until reaching the windows that faced the back of the library, away from where we had come in. Sliding open one of them, Macey climbed down the stone exterior, finding the handholds and footholds. Following after her I jumped the last five feet and we scanned the surroundings. We shoved our hair into the baseball caps and put on sunglasses, using the reflections from the glasses to check behind us.

As we jogged the shortest possible route back to school I was silent the entire way. My mind was churning as I replayed the events, searching for clues to my questions. Why would there be tails on us in Roseville? Was this a surprise test for everyone in our grade, even those on the research track? There were only two people who could give me answers – my mom and Solomon, Joe Solomon.

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**Hey everyone! thank you so much to my two reviewers! i honestly could not understand how amazing an author feels to get reviews until I got my first two, so thanks. Well that was chapter 2, it wasn't my fav but I could see no other way to make the story go where i want it to. i like chapter 3, which i am currently editing, much more than chapter 2, so hold in there and the action will start soon (chapter 4ish). i dont want to be a bother but reviews are welcome! if you need anyother additional info check back to chapter 1. thanks so much!**

**-this-is-just-a-dream**

**and for those of you who are looking for your zach fix (i know i would be) hang in there! it will come =)**


	3. Chapter 3

**heyyy everyone! i'm back! i've had this chapter done for a while, just editing it a bit, but i had hoped to have chapter 4 done before i updated, but you all got lucky and i gave in early. so i'm not exactly sure when chapter 4 will be done, hopefully soon, but chapter 3 will just have to hold you off for a little while =) i hope you enjoy it, i like this chapter.**

**Also, just wanted to say thanks to my two reviewers! you two are awesome and made me want to put this chapter out. it means a lot to me that you took the time to review, so thanks.**

**Disclaimer: Wait!? I'm Ally Carter??? Nope. Sorry, only a dream. Nothing has changed, this all belgongs to Ally Carter, and well, I'm not her.**

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**Chapter 3**

Macey and I pushed open the front doors to Gallagher and greeted Bex, Liz and a few other juniors already in the foyer. Liz who was furiously tapping away at her laptop looked up at us. She was probably checking to see if we were hurt. "How'd you lose him?"

"Cammie and I merged with a group of girls, and then headed to the library. We went to the top floor, climbed out of a window, and jogged home. It was easy" she said with a shrug. But it was true; our tail was not that hard to lose.

After four minutes and twenty-seven seconds the rest of the juniors were back. Everyone had succeeded in losing their tails. Liz turned to me, "Cammie should we…"

"Everyone follow me to Sublevel Two." Solomon's booming voice cut her off. "Yes, Ms. Sutton, even those of the research track" he said answering her unasked question. "You too Ms. McHenry."

An excited murmur filled the air as we were scanned to see Sublevel Two for the first time. Hmm, maybe this was just a test. Solomon didn't appear to be too stressed out. But then again, he is a spy, and a good one at that. Spies know how to hide their true emotions; how to keep a straight face. That task was a matter of life and death. Keep a poker face then congratulations, you may live to see another day. If you don't, well, let's just say you won't last too long in this business.

Bex gave my arm an excited squeeze and we filed into our seats. I quickly glanced around at the cool stainless steel and up to date computer monitors, getting a feel for my new surroundings.

"Ladies, contrary to what you may believe, that was not a test" Mr. Solomon began as he sat on the top of his desk.

Another voice spoke up from the doorway and I recognized it to be my mom's. "About thirty seven minutes ago we received word from the CIA. A very important disk has been stolen from us. This is not like the alumni disk that we keep safe here in the walls of Gallagher. This disk was taken from a much more secure location and it contains data about every single undercover spy school in the world. Girls, it is crucial that this disk be returned. If it falls into the wrong hands the results would be disastrous and life as we know it would be forever changed.

"Those tails on you back in Roseville were trying to make sure you girls were still in the dark and not off to try and retrieve the disk."

Solomon stood up, his eyes scanning everyone in the room, "It is up to you ladies to retrieve that disk and bring it safely back to Gallagher. Except, this mission is unlike any other you have ever experienced. The terrorists are watching the skies and even the grounds, so we will not be able to send you out to your location known as home base as we normally would. There is no way for us to get you there at all. Instead that is up to you.

"You will have to go on foot and by public transportation. It is not the safest way, but it is the only way. There will be checkpoints along the way, each one leading to the next and ultimately home base. Each checkpoint will only be accessible after reading the palm print of eight Gallagher juniors and by inserting the correct password from the last checkpoint. At home base there will be more information about your mission. For now, your covers will be that you are juniors at a private high school in the wilds of South Carolina. Your school is called the Trellis Academy of Youths."

My mom looked over at us, the worry in her eyes evident. "I would like to warn you that not all of those who wish to take you down will be adults. We have reason to believe that some of the terrorists are training their teenagers and this could be their 'test'. I advise you to watch your back--"

"And trust no one" Solomon finished, taking a stand by my mother's side. "Pack your bags; we will be able to ship those to home base. Pack some weapons, comms, and any additional equipment that you may need for the journey. Once you get to home base there will be access to unlimited supplies of equipment and the latest data from the CIA."

"Girls, be ready to leave at five a.m. sharp tomorrow morning. Professor Solomon will hand out your first code. Get a good night sleep and good luck" my mom cracked a sliver of a smile as she pushed her hair behind her ears.

With those few words we were dismissed. Everyone was silent as we made our way up to the dorms.

This was our first real mission and I had no idea what to feel. I was excited, nervous, confused, and all of my emotions were running through my body tingling every nerve ending, but all my face showed was a blank stare. I looked over at Bex who was fidgeting with excitement. She looked like she may explode at any moment. Macey on the other hand looked stoic and a little confused at being considered ready to go on an actual mission. My heart went out to Liz when I saw the evident worry she was trying to hide behind her I'm-thinking-too-hard-face. I understood where each and every one of my sisters was coming from. We are juniors in high school and the future rested on our shoulders. Cool? Yes. Scary? Yes. I didn't even want to think about what would happen if we failed. Scratch that, failure was not an option.

The entire junior class sighed as we sat down on the large leather couches, letting their fabric and the blankets surround us. I pulled out the first code and read aloud to the faces waiting in anticipation:

"_In the circles I've been running,_

_I've covered many miles,_

_And I could search forever for what's rught before my eyes,_

_Just when I though I found it,_

_It was nothing like I planned,_

_When I got my heart around it, it slipped right through my hands…"_

I looked up from the paper and Anna was giving me a strange look. She opened her mouth and let out in a small voice, "Aren't those Carrie Underwood lyrics from her song, 'That's Where It Is?'"

Scanning through her iPod, Bex looked up to confirm what Anna had said. "Yeah, they are. That's weird. Cam are you sure that's the first code?"

Great, my first mission hadn't even started yet and I could have possibly already screwed up. But, no, I felt a wash of relief remembering that Solomon personally handed the code to me, looked me in the eyes and told me that was it. "I am positive that's the code. Solomon handed it right to me. There must be some hidden message behind it."

We spent the next twenty minutes passing the code around. So far we figured out that the first two lines were talking about us as Gallagher Girls and spies in general. In the lives we lead and with our time at Gallagher we have grown as individuals, come from all over the country (even international in Bex's case) and our tests have taken us to all different places. It was the rest of the code we still couldn't figure out. Like where we had to go, or what the password is.

Macey closed her eyes and placed her perfect complexion in her hands. She began muttering to herself.

"Macey you okay?" Bex questioned.

"Yeah, I'm trying to figure out what was wrong with the note. I know something was off. Let me see it again."

Kim placed the code in Macey's perfectly manicured hands. She looked down and read it, once, twice. On the third time her face lit up. "The word 'right' is spelled incorrectly. It's spelled with a 'u' instead of an 'i'. Hmm, rught before, rught before. What does it mean?"

My heart sped up and a smile went across my face. "Listen to the words closely. RUght BEfore. RU BE. It sounds like ruby, as in the ruby slipper exhibit in Washington D.C. where we had our test last semester."

"And remember how when we thought we passed the test the boys had actually tailed us? When we started to figure out the Blackthorne Boys they left, like they '_slipped right through our hands_'. I bet that the location is the ruby slipper exhibit and the code is Blackthorne!" Bex exclaimed in a whisper only loud enough for us to hear.

"Well the only way to find out if we are right is to actually go there" I pointed out.

Liz started typing away. "I'm on it. We can slip out through one of the secret passage ways and walk to the next town over. From there we can catch the six o'clock bus to D.C. We should be there around ten-ish."

After that a communal yawn told us that we needed to pack and head to bed. Macey, Bex, Liz and I headed into our room and Bex put the iPod speakers on as we packed our bags. We each set aside disguises for when we needed to walk to the next town. We packed comm units, tiny cameras disguised as necklaces, bracelets with lasers in them, Napotine patches, and whatever else we could think of.

Bex stretched her arms and got ready for bed. In her thick British accent she said with a yawn, "Do you think the Blackthorne boys will be on this mission?"

"Maybe Jonas will be there! I bet he knows something" Liz blurted, covering her blushing face with her hands.

Macey laughed as Bex mused, "Hmm, it would be nice to see Grant again. He was so hot!"

Turning to me Liz questioned, "What about you Cammie? Do you think you'll see Zach again?"

I tried to keep my pulse in check and my face from blushing. I replied in a calm voice, "You guys can wish, but this is our mission not theirs."

I didn't know if this was true or not, I had no idea if they would show up, but I just wanted to avoid the question. I didn't have an answer for it. Zach's green eyes had melted my heart, but now wasn't the time to think about it.

"Whatever you say Cam, but we know you like him" Macey sang out.

I shook my head and dove into bed. I closed my eyes and let my thoughts wander as I fell asleep to Kanye West's "Stronger".

"_Work it, make it, do it, makes us_

_Harder, better, faster, stronger._

_(Work it harder, make it better)_

_N-n-now that that don't kill me_

_(Do it faster, makes us stronger)_

_Can only make me stronger…"_

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**Alright, well there it was everyone, chapter 3. hope you liked it. i'll try my best to update soon! i've done my part, so i'll ask reaalllyyyy nicely or you to do yours and maybe give me a review? pleasee? it'll only take like 30 seconds. it doesn't have to be some epic paragraph, a few words are nice too. so hit that little green button and give me a review. =) (did i just rhyme? lol) thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!! =D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! First, I just want to say that I am so sorry that it took me such a long time to update. Chapter 4 was harder for me to write than I though, and it didn't come out the way that i had initially planned it, but hopefully it changed for the better. I worked hard on this chapter, and I hope it shows and that it isn't boring (but if it is please tell me so I can make changes in the future!) Secondly, to my reviewers: thank you thank you thank you!!!!! everyone who reviewed is amazing and I appreciate it so much, you made me work hard to finish this chapter..who knows it coud have ended up being another week without you all. so thanks!**

**Disclaimer: This belongs to Ally Carter, and sadly I am not her.**

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**Chapter 4**

The annoying repetitive beeping of an alarm clock was the first sound that I heard as I opened my eyes at four a.m. the next morning. I walked over to Liz's bed and quickly flipped the switch off as I woke up my sisters. While they continued to grumble and groan, especially Bex who had a murderous look on her face, I slipped into the bathroom to take a hot steamy shower.

I finished and let my three friends get ready. After they showered we put on our disguises that we would wear until we were safely out of the Roseville area. I slipped on a chestnut brown wig that had streaks of light blue on the ends. I popped in colored contacts and dressed in skinny jeans, flats, and a t-shirt. After I was dressed I let Macey and Bex handle my makeup. When we were done I couldn't even recognize my friends, well I could but I knew no outsider would be able to. Grinning, we grabbed power bars and headed down to the great hall where the rest of the junior class was waiting.

As Solomon stepped off the elevator leading to sublevel two he gave a slight grin. He gazed around at the disguised girls in the foyer and gave a small nod. "Good job ladies. You have all expertly disguised yourselves, and I am assuming that you have cracked the first code and have a plan in place. With that I wish you all the best. Remember to get good," he eyes looked at me then, "and expect the unexpected. You may leave now."

With that I stepped forward and pressed two bricks in the wall and turned a knob. Pushing aside a portrait of Gilly Gallagher, a passageway was revealed. As we stepped inside we slipped on our comm units and began our mission.

The flicker of flames from the lanterns cast shadows along the cobweb lined passageway. The clicking of shoes along the stone floor sent chills down my spine. I took deep breaths as I stopped at the end on the passage. I turned to the junior class, my fellow classmates, my sisters, and gazed at them all. "Alright girls, this is where the mission begins for real. We need to be good because we don't know if the terrorists are better, and we won't give them a chance to find that out."

"This passageway exits in the outskirts of the woods lining the Gallagher property. We're gonna slip over the wall and head into the next town over where we can catch the bus to our location. If we are all using counter surveillance techniques we should be fine" Bex finished as Liz began passing out the bus passes that we would need.

Opening the door we stepped into the dazzling sunlight. The rays warmed my skin and I led the girls through the woods. Standing behind trees we scanned the surrounding areas looking for any possible threats. When we saw that there were none for the time being we walked up to the wall.

"Ok, Liz this is section J-12796. How long will it take for you to disable the sensors for four minutes for this section of the wall?" I asked in a whisper.

She looked straight at me, her blue eyes twinkling behind her fake glasses, and smirked. "How does thirty seconds sound? I mapped out the codes last night so I know how to bypass security and take it down. Also, once the time runs out a larger firewall and stronger defenses will be set in place for the school so it will be near impossible for anyone to hack into the security now" I smiled. That's Liz for you; I can always count on my extraordinary friend and kick butt spy genius to have my back.

I gave the signal and Liz took out her mini laptop and type furiously. After just twenty-eight seconds she gave the signal and we all made our way over the hard stone wall that loomed before us. A challenge for an ordinary person was no biggie for spies like us. Three minutes and forty seven seconds later we were all over the wall and continued walking down the road.

"Alright, I think we should split into groups, it may look weird if our entire junior class was walking through the town between five and six in the morning. Even if they can't recognize us, we should at least wait and then meet up at the bus stop. If you get it trouble you guys know the signal" With that, Bex, Macey, Liz and I split from the other groups. We headed down a side street toward the next town, carefully watching for any possible threats. As I looked behind us in a car's rear window, Macey took out a compact to "fix her makeup" but she was really checking behind us in the mirror.

We walked at a speed, so as to attract little to no attention to ourselves. Fifteen minutes and thirty eight seconds later we came upon a sign that said, "You are now exiting Roseville Virginia. Thank you for visiting" We made our way into the next town, down the smooth paved roads lined with trees bursting with color. At five forty five we had made it to the bus depot, but none of the other groups were there yet. Sitting on a bench off to the side, I said into my comms, "This is Chameleon; we have arrived at the destination. Status check."

Within seconds I got replies from the remaining groups and waited for their arrival. As the bus pulled up everyone had made it safely to the depot and without tails. We boarded the bus and settled into our seats for the long ride to D.C.

***

"Thank you for riding with us today. Enjoy your time in Washington D.C." our bus driver said over the intercom as we exited into the city.

The sweet perfume of cherry blossom trees and warm pretzels from the street cart mingled in the air as we walked down the brick sidewalks. It was ten o'clock and the streets were crowded with people traveling in all different directions. Following the flow we stopped in a mall and went into American Eagle Outfitters where we used the bathrooms to take off our disguises.

Afterwards we walked over the Washington Mall. The black granite from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial reflected our faces back to us as well as the surrounding landscape as we walked past the thousands of names engraved on its surface. We made our way over to the Smithsonian Museum after doubling back a few times to lose any possible tails.

As we approached the exhibit I turned and looked at my friends, "Okay, who wants to help out here?"

"Well Cam I think you should, you're like the leader of us all. And how about me, Macey, Liz, Tina, Courtney, Eva, and Anna to help?" Bex asked as she walked forward.

"Sounds good to me, but where do we put our palm prints?" I whispered.

Liz, who I just noticed was intensely studying the slipper exhibit spoke up, her eyes never leaving the shoes, "From what it looks like to me you put them in on the side panel. Then I'm guessing a computer screen will pop up so that you can enter the code. From there, well I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"Alright, thanks Liz" I stepped closer to the exhibit while the rest of the girls pretended that we were just normal teenage girls on a fieldtrip. I walked over to the cool marble base and placed my palm against the side. I felt my hand warm up as a gentle glow ran beneath it. I kept my hand there until a faint green check lit up. Removing my hand the rest of the girls stepped up and did the same. After all eight palm prints were confirmed a piece of the panel moved aside to reveal a small computer screen with the curser flashing against "CODE?" Liz walked over and quickly typed in "Blackthorne." The panel shut and we waited.

"Well, did it work or not?" Tina questioned between snaps of her gum just as a piece of evapo-paper came out of a slot.

"There's your answer Tina" Macey replied as she picked up the paper and handed it to me.

I smiled thanks. "Let's go someplace more private to read this. We've been standing here too long and we don't want people getting suspicious. How about we go sit in a restaurant and grab a quick lunch. We can sit in a booth near the back."

"I know this delicious Italian restaurant in downtown D.C. called Il Mulino. I ate there on the campaign trail this summer, it's really good and it has a private table in the back. Plus, no one will even recognize me because they got a new wait staff, and the restaurant is on good terms with the secret service, so they know not to mention that I- we- were there."

"Umm, Macey I hate to burst your bubble, but I don't think we can all really afford that. No matter what people think our school is, we're not actually rich"

She rolled her eyes, "Duh, I knew that Cam. That's why I'm paying. With daddy's money of course" she smirked and strutted down the street. Yes, she actually did strut. I silently laughed in my head. She really does belong on a runway for _Vogue_.

Following her lead we made our way through the streets of D.C. Everything was going well until I saw someone with dark brown shaggy hair and green eyes. I felt my heart stop and struggled to take a breath.

Bex who was next to me raised her eyebrows, "Cammie, what's wrong? Is there someone following us?" I slowly shook my head no as that ounce of hope that began to bubble to the surface was popped when I actually realized that this boy was no Zachary Goode.

I turned to Bex and told her in a deflated voice, "Oh, it was nothing. I, well, umm, I just though I saw Zach. But it wasn't him. No biggie, let's keep walking"

I saw a flash of sympathy in her eyes as she told me, "Cammie, it is okay to like him. I know how you feel, I thought I saw Grant a few weeks ago and I almost fainted. You know me, it would normally take a bucket of noxious gasses and a good fight to make me faint" I gave her a weak laugh and smiled. I love how my friends know the exact words to say at just the right time. We understand each other so well that they can always cheer me up.

After walking for about ten minutes we finally reached the restaurant. Macey stepped up to the hostess placed her hands on the podium and said, "A table in the back for fifteen please."

The hostess looked us up and down and raised her eyebrows. "Umm, hun, no offense or anything, but I don't think you and your little friends will really be able to afford this place."

Stepping up even closer Macey cocked her hips and smirked, "Oh really? Does this change your mind at all?" She pulled out five hundred dollars in cash and three different credit cards. "I'd like that booth in the back now, _hun_."

"Oh, uh, yes. Well right this way then please" the hostess managed to sputter out. Following her though the restaurant we sat at a quiet and secluded table. We all did a silent sweep looking for any bugs and other possible threats before I took out the next code to decipher. I unfolded the evapo-paper only to discover that there was nothing written on it.

"Uhh, guys. It's blank"

"Hmm, lemme see it for a sec Cam" Liz answered as she took the paper from my hands. She examined it, and sniffed it (Yes, she may be my friend, but that doesn't mean that she can't be weird sometimes) and to the surprise of us all, she licked it.

My eyebrows pretty much shot off my face at that one as I whisper-yelled, "Liz! What the heck are you doing?"

"It's okay Cam. Look" Liz pointed to the paper. I was shocked to see that words had now appeared on the paper. "It's a new type of evapo-paper. Jonas told me about a prototype of it last year. It has a distinct smell, a cross between a lemon and a cherry, like a chemon. Hmm, I wonder what a chemon would taste like. I bet it would be really good. Probably like-"

Bex sighed from next to me, "Earth to Liz! Forget the bloody chemons and tell us about the paper."

Liz immediately snapped out of her rant and continued on as if nothing ever happened. "Anyways, the message is written in special ink and you lick it just a little bit to make it appear. Then to destroy it just pop it in your mouth, chew it a bit and it will dissolve. It's more secretive than the other kind," she shrugged, "and it works better too."

Fourteen sets of eyes including my own stared back at Liz with wonder and Bex summed up our feeling with a, "That's bloody brilliant."

Liz just smiled as she handed the paper back to me. I looked at the new writing and quietly read aloud, as others carried on conversations to mask my voice, but never missing a word that I said.

"_my hote__L__ in manhattan,_

_hol__D__s more people than __O__ur town,_

_A__nd what I just paid for dinne__R__,_

_W__ould be a down p__A__yment on a house,_

_i'd rather be tipping cows in tul__F__sa,_

_T__han hailing cab__S__ he__R__e in new york,_

_but i ain't in chec__O__tah __A__nymore."_

Macey spoke up first, "Okay, I'm beginning to think that whoever is writing these has a serious Carrie Underwood obsession, and for the sake of all of us, I really hope it's not Mr. Solomon. I'd rather not picture him dancing around in cowboy boots singing _I Ain't in Checotah Anymore _into a hairbrush and a mirror_._"

Bex spit out her sprite laughing at the mental image that Macey just gave us. It only reminded me of the time that I stayed late after CovOps one day. I was walking by Mr. Solomon's desk and laying on it was a small silver iPod nano and the playlist was set on Carrie Underwood. Who knew that Mr. Solomon was such a Carrie Underwood lover? I bet he even goes to her concerts! Just thinking of him dancing in the crowd and singing along made me laugh along with the rest of my friends.

After we finally calmed down I took a good look at the next clue, only to notice that some of the letters were capitalized, but written in a smaller font to make it look like they blend in. And there was a random F in Tulsa. I wonder if that is a typo, but maybe everything happens for a reason.

Pointing to the letter I speak, "Some of the letters are capitalized, and a random letter is added. What does it mean this time? I have a feeling we're going to New York, but just where?"

"Why don't we write the letters out and then we can examine them" Bex gave her input through bites of a burger.

"Sounds good to me" I took out a piece of evapo-paper from my bag and wrote down the letters. When I was finished I had a piece of paper that said, 'LDOAIRWAFTSROA'. "Hey Liz, do you think you can make any sense out of this?"

I handed her the paper as she replied, "Sure Cam, I'll do my best." She pulled out her laptop and said, "I'll type the letters into this program I created. It will take the letters and form them into a word or words. I can even narrow the search by typing in a key word that it may relate to. In this case I think I'll try Manhattan."

Just as I turned back to my fettuccini alfredo Liz let out a small excited squeal. "I found out where we're going…" staring into our faces thick with anticipation, "…the WALDORF ASTORIA hotel!" Woah. Did I just hear her correctly? The Waldorf Astoria hotel in Manhattan? As in, that huge, expensive, luxurious hotel that definitely holds more people than Roseville? Now this is my kind of mission.

"I just booked us seats on the 1:30 bus to New York. It's a little over four hours to get there, so we can probably be at the hotel by six-ish."

"Thanks Liz!" Switching over to Farsi I finished, "We still have about forty five minutes so we should probably put on new disguises"

Macey paid for our meal, or should I say, senator McHenry paid for our meal, and we once again stepped out onto the streets of Washington D.C. I couldn't help but get lost in thought as I recapped the events of the last few days. How long would these codes go on for? Were we being sent on a wild goose chase across the entire country, maybe even the world? My heart rate began to speed up as I mulled over these questions until Bex snapped me out of my trance.

"Come on Cammie. Macey is taking us to buy some new 'stuff' for our next trip. And I know you want to be there when she buys your outfit so you don't end up in a…hmm…strapless mini dress?"

A horrified look flitted across my face. "She wouldn't dare" I breathed.

"Kidding Cam! I was just kidding…or was I?" Bex cocked her eyebrow and gave a twisted grin as I quickly followed after her into the store. I ended up in a short denim skirt, a light blue tank top with a gray sweater over it. It was paired off with gray flats that Bex had worn earlier and a silver necklace with a video camera just in case. I put on another dark brown wig this time filled with curls, and kept in the colored contacts just adding fake glasses over them.

The fifteen of us were finished with our new looks and headed to the bus stop. I boarded and sat next to Bex staring out the window and waiting. I couldn't help but feel a little sad about leaving D.C. so quickly. And in a way, I think it's because a part of me had listened to Macey, Liz and Bex. A part of me had believed that we would see the Blackthorne boys. But as the bus pulled out of the depot a part of me knew that the mission was only beginning, and I had no idea what awaited us in New York.

* * *

**Ok, so there it was, chapter 4. i hope you liked it. but love it, hate it, bored by it, if it has some huge errors, anything you wanna say, please review!!! (it makes me feel special to get a review =) lol) oh, and the restraunt & hotel in the chapter are real...thank you google. so are the driving time, well according to mapquest. I have big plans for chapter 5, very big plans and hopefully they work out. so let me know whats on you mind! thanks for reading.**

**~Just a Dream **


	5. Chapter 5

**Once again I want to thank my absolutly amazing reviewers! I'm sorry this took me so long to get out, you all deserved a faster update. I was just a little stuck with the wording and some of the smaller details, but I figures it out. So here it is...chapter 5.**

**Disclaimer: The plot may be mine, but everything else belongs to the one and only Ally Carter.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

As we approached New York City I nudged an out cold Bex awake. She opened her eyes and looked out the window, taking a deep breath. "Wow, it's beautiful"

I followed her gaze as my eyes scanned the sights in front of me. We were approaching the city at dusk and the sun beginning to set behind the buildings cast a golden shadow across the sparkling glass of the sky scrapers. The lights appearing as day turned to night dotted the sky with a brilliant glow. It was as if the buildings were alive, standing tall, watching over the world and the cars that zoomed below in the depths of the city.

Twenty five minutes later after weaving through rush hour traffic the bus pulled up on 6th Avenue and we grabbed our bags to head out. Walking with the crowds of people we made our way over to 100 E 50th Street. Standing in front of the hotel my eyes gazed upward soaking in the towering structure before me. Taking a deep breath I stepped forward and pushed my way through the revolving doors and into the lobby.

Liz looked at me, a question lingering behind her eyes, "Hey Cam, do you know what the reservations are under?"

"I think I have an idea" I said, giving her a smile as I walked up to the reception desk.

"We have a reservation under Carrie Solomon" I told the receptionist.

She clicked away at the computer before pulling up our accommodations. "Ah yes, here they are. Carrie Solomon for fifteen. You will be in the grand suites" she read handing over the keys to the rooms "Enjoy your stay at the Waldorf Astoria."

"Thank you" I took the room keys and headed back over to everyone. I looked at them and gave the good news, "We were booked with grand suites!" My news immediately met with squeals of delight.

We made our way over to the elevator and headed up to our floor. Walking down the hallway lined with plush carpet I stopped in front of our two rooms that were to be connected with an adjoining door. I swiped the key into the door and waited as the green light blinked. Bex, Liz, Macey, Tina, Anna, Eva and I stepped into the room and set our bags down. My feet sunk into the lush red carpet of the sitting room. Cream colored couches and chairs filled the room while a mahogany and glass plated coffee table sat in the center. A large flat screen television hung on the inside wall while the opposite had large windows looking out over the city. Off to the side there was a small dining table and a stainless steel mini fridge and matching microwave. Walking across the room I opened the white double doors and entered into the bedroom. The beds were covered with lavish gold bedspreads and accenting pillows. Walking back into the sitting room and without saying a word, we thoroughly began to check for any bugs (the spy kind not the insect). Thirteen minutes and forty seconds later when we finished searching the room to find no bugs we claimed beds and I flopped across the couch.

Bex looked at me sitting down on the floor, "What's next? Is there another clue or code we need to figure out?"

"I'm not sure. Knowing Solomon there has to be. I don't think that this is home base. The only question is where do we find the next clue?"

Just then Macey's head popped out of the closet that she had to inspect it to see if it could hold an adequate amount of clothing (it was apparently up to her standards). She smiled and spoke, "I think I may have just found it."

Bex and I ran over to the closet to see that it held a giant locked safe. "Macey looked back at us, "I was trying to get it open so that I could put some of our gadgets in there but it was locked and they usually leave it open so that you can know the code. So then I was feeling around the back of it and found this" She opened her hand to reveal a piece of paper, and not just any paper, but the new "chemon" evapo paper. I took it and lightly licked it to reveal the type on it. Written on the paper appeared to be meals listed, I began to open my mouth when Kim burst through the connecting door.

"Guys, we found a clue on–"

"Chemon evapo paper?" I finished for her. She gave a quick nod as I said, "Same here. Let's compare them."

Written on her clue was;

**Olive Garden**

***:))**

**Trellis Academy**

(We later figured out that the *:)) stood for 8:00 when you press the shift button on a keyboard.)

Then on the clue found in our room it said;

**1. Lasagna Classico  
2. Chicken Parm  
3. Personal Cheese Pizza  
4. Fettuccine Alfredo  
5. Steak Toscano  
6. Mixed Grill  
7. Tour of Italy  
8. Chicken Alfredo  
9. Chicken Scampi  
10. Personal Pepperoni Pizza  
11. Chicken Parm  
12. Steak Toscano  
13. Mixed Grill  
14. Lasagna Classico  
15. Spaghetti & Meatballs**

"**Is there anything else I can do for you ladies tonight?**

"**Yeah, actually there is. Can you bill the meal to our school? I can sign off on it."**

"**Yes, that sounds fine. It will be no problem."**

I looked up at all of my sisters that had now sat in our side of the suite, "Get ready girls, we're going out to eat in New York." With that everyone ran off into directions to update their outfits by mixing and matching pieces that we had bought are brought with us.

Well, Macey once again spun into action throwing out new clothes that somehow all magically fit into her bag. I'm afraid to ask how she could possibly fit that many articles of clothing in there, it was like her freaky talent. Keeping on the top that I had earlier I put on the black ruffled skirt (according to Macey it came from Italy) that had been chucked at my head. Then I put on a pair of black Mary Jane pumps, once again chucked at my head. (Let's just say, heels coming at your head is scary, and it hurts, especially when said heels were thrown by the one and only Bex Baxter). I left on my brown curly wig, only removing my glasses to put on a pair of topaz contacts. Comm units Liz designed were placed into my diamond earrings and the look was finished off with a small heart shaped necklace with a lone diamond that doubled as a camera.

By seven thirty everyone was ready to go and we once again ventured into the city. We walked to the closest subway station and rode to the stop nearest the restaurant. When we got inside Bex walked up to the host and said, "Trellis Academy, we have a reservation at eight." After checking the computer we followed the host to a table set for fifteen in the rear of the restaurant. It was the perfect table, quiet and secluded.

We were quietly talking amongst ourselves when I looked up and my eyes popped out of my head. Standing in front of our table was a statue of gorgeous-ness that had to be a male model around age nineteen or twenty. He was about 6' 1" and had olive skin with clearly defined muscles under his black uniform. His dirty blonde hair was tousled in an 'I'm not really trying too hard but still manage to look good way' as its gentle locks curled around his ears. His blue eyes were the color of the sky on a clear evening at twilight. I was in teen girl heaven and I knew everyone agreed with me as I heard Tina mutter "Holy shit, is he on the menu?" into her comms unit.

Model man walked up to the table and gave a heart breaking smile at the fifteen girls ogling at his amazingness and said, "Hey, I'm Adam and I'll be you server. What can I get you ladies tonight?"

As he turned to look at me I could hear Bex breathe into her comms unit next to me, "Can I have you?"

Trying to keep from laughing I said to him, "I'll have the lasagna classico" as I handed over my menu. The orders went around the table exactly the way they were listed in the evapo-paper.

As he wrote down our orders a small smirk appeared on his face. When he was finished writing he swept a small piece of hair out of his face and told us, "Your meals will be out in a little bit."

When he walked away Liz's eyes, still wide from the hot Adam encounter tilted her head back ever so slightly and let out a sigh as she said, "Whoa." With that we couldn't keep it in any longer and we all burst out laughing in the restaurant.

Sobering up from the laughing fit Bex turned to Macey, resident boy expert extraordinaire, and asked, "Macey, using your advanced knowledge of boys, what would you rate Adam on a hotness scale of one to ten?"

She slightly shook her head and replied, "First of all, he is not just a boy. He is a hunk of delicious man. And secondly, he cannot be rated on a scale," her statement was met with confused expressions all around. "He's off the charts!" she exclaimed in exasperation which set us all into another round of giggles as our food was delivered.

As soon as the food was set in front of us we all dug in. I sat there silently, letting my mind wander once again. Despite the fact that we were on a mission, I couldn't help but feel calm and happy. I was enjoying myself, and nothing bad had happened. I know it's probably too soon to say that and I know this mission will get harder later on, but for now I felt at ease as I satisfied my taste buds with the mixture of tomato sauce, garlic, and warm gooey cheese.

As we finished all that could fit into our stomachs Adam came back and asked, "Is there anything else I can do for you ladies tonight?"

While Tina swooned under her breath, "Yeah, plenty" I stuck to the lines given us and replied with, "Yeah, actually there is. Can you bill the meal to our school? I can sign off on it."

Adam nodded, "Yes that sounds fine. It will be no problem."

He walked away, and returned a few minutes later with a slip of paper. "This is for you. I hope you enjoyed your meal at the Olive Garden. Have a good night ladies." He left and we put a large tip on the table.

Meanwhile I looked down at the slip of paper. It was the bill and the total amount was highlighted. It said $3,37.57 and underneath that it tiny writing was "Our _prices_change but the service remains the same." The first detail I noticed was the random comma in the price. Hmm, that must be the code to the safe. And I'm guessing that the little 'saying' must mean that the code will change after we use it. I passed it to Bex and she quickly scanned in, noticing the same details that I did. Liz took the bill, folded it up and placed in inside of her silver heart locket. We then gathered our bags and left.

Instead of returning to the hotel right away there was a mutual agreement to enjoy the night in New York for a little while. We split off into our own groups, knowing that the comm units and trackers in our rings would keep us connected. Macey, Bex, Liz and I waved goodbye and headed down the crowded streets (and to me, those crowded streets were pavement artist heaven). Macey had said she wanted to show us all of the hottest places that she had found while vacationing here.

We were just heading into one of Macey's favorite stores when she stopped shot and grimaced, "What. The. Hell."

Bex tried to follow her gaze, "Mace, what's up?"

"Derek f-ing Elkridge is up ahead" she spat out with a venom I didn't know she was capable of.

"Macey, you can calm down. You have a disguise so he won't even recognize you."

"I'm not worried about him recognizing me" she blankly stated. "Look who he's with. The reason I'm pissed off is because that asshole didn't tell me he was a Blackthorne Boy."

* * *

**Ooooo a cliffy...kinda. haha well please review! You just have to press that lonely little green button down there. It's easy, I review stories all the time!!  
I'll do my best with getting chapter 6 out soon =)**

**Also, check out my new poll on my profile page! **

**Until later,  
~Just a Dream**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone! I'm going to try and keep it short today (the Author's note that is). Thank you to everyone who has reviewed my story! You do not know how much it means to me! I really appreciate it. Hope you like chapter 6.**

**Disclaimer: I am not, nor ever will be, Ally Carter.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Throughout my short sixteen year life I've heard many sayings that may or may not be true. But it wasn't until this moment that I actually got to test one out. That being said, I learned that yes, your heart can stop from shock and yes, it is possible to forget how to breathe. Both of which happened to me when Macey so swiftly mentioned the boys that I thought I may never see again until after we graduated. Oh, was I wrong for believing that.

Pain surged through the top of my arm as Bex slapped me back into the present. "Cam, we, as human beings need air. It's a basic fact of life. It is so basic that they don't bother teaching it in school; so basic that even the cavemen could do it!" she let out an exasperated sigh. "I know you're in as much shock as the rest of us, so I am going to give you the most valuable piece on information you may ever hear; open your mouth and suck down some air before you pass out. Can you do that for me Cammie?"

I managed a small nod as I took a deep breath and filled my lungs with cool, dank, and polluted city air. Yeah, appetizing, but at least my lungs were no longer flaming.

I looked down the block at the group of boys that had just emerged from a trendy teen club. They were talking, laughing; enjoying a carefree time out in the city. I led my three best friends over to a bench outside another nightclub. As we sat down _Revenge is Sweeter (Than You Ever Were)_ by the Veronicas began playing.

_I saw it in the news  
You told me they were wrong  
And I stood up for you  
'Cause I believed you were the one_

_You had all the chances in the world  
To let me know the truth  
What the hell's wrong with you?_

They started in this direction and my eyes roamed the group. After a few seconds I finally managed to find the Blackthorne Boy that had stolen my heart, Zach Goode. If it was even possible to become hotter in just a few months, then Zach had done just that. He had gained a few inches in height to settle around six feet. His blue long sleeve polo shirt highlighted the strong muscles of his arms, and the few buttons he left undone accented his chiseled chest under the white t-shirt. His dark brown hair had grown and pieces curled around the ears and at the nape of his neck to frame his face. Zach was walking with an air of confidence and as he neared closer to where we sat his head turned in my direction. My heart sped up, fearing he would see through my disguise yet hoping that he would at the same time. His piercing green eyes were darker and looked straight at me. Under the pressure I cracked a smile as his gaze still lingered on mine, but a realization began to set in. He didn't see me on this bench. He didn't see any of us. We were just 'normal' girls outside a club in New York. We weren't anything special and his eyes looked not at me, but through me.

_Are you even listening when I talk to you?  
Do you even care what I'm going through?  
Your eyes stare and they're staring right through me  
You're right there but it's like you never knew me_

I was hoping that maybe it was different because we were in disguises, maybe if he had seen Cammie Morgan and not a just a cover story then he would be more welcoming. Yeah, and maybe pigs fly. Obviously I was wrong, obviously my feeling weren't returned last year because why would he like pavement artist Cammie Morgan when he could have the blonde model that just walked up to him?

There was a group of girls walking with the boys now, and they weren't Gallagher Girls either. The boys were talking and doing a little flirting, what could be harmless fun. That was hardly Zach's case though. His arm was wrapped around the girl's waist, while she was giggling, batting her eyelashes and whispering words to his ears. She leaned over and pecked him on the cheek.

_Do you even know how much it hurt,  
That you gave up on me to be with her?  
Revenge is sweeter than you ever were_

Okay, I'll admit it, I had fallen for him, and when you fall for a person as hard as I did it's like torture when they don't return your feelings. I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream. I wanted to punch someone in the face. A strangled sob left my mouth and Bex patted my hand.

"Hey, Cam, look at me. He isn't worth it; none of them are" she told me as she shook her head and looked into her lap. I knew then that even though Grant had done nothing noticeably wrong she was still disappointed in him.

Macey leaned over and gave me a hug, "Trust me Cammie, there are much hotter guys out there. And, there are guys out there who aren't jerks and don't have any of that mysterious crap going on. You deserve better. You all do."

_I'm so mad at you right now  
I can't even find the words  
And you're on the way down  
I can't wait to see you burn  
You try to make me hate that girl  
When I should be hating you  
What the hell's wrong with you?_

_Are you even listening when I talk to you?  
Do you even care what I'm going through?  
Your eyes stare and they're staring right through me  
You're right there but it's like you never knew me_

_Do you even know how much it hurt,  
That you gave up on me to be with her?  
Revenge is sweeter than you ever were  
(than you ever were)  
Revenge is sweeter than you ever were_

Despite what my friends had told me, the pain was still a crushing force. I felt helpless, and I was mad, mad at Zach for potentially leading me on, mad at myself for getting into this type of situation again; for letting my heart get broken. And I know my friends would understand if I told them this, but I didn't want them worrying about me. So, I did what spies do best, I lied.

"You know guys, you're right. He isn't worth it, and I'm over it." I smiled at them. Oh, if you only knew how much that was a lie I thought.

Bex looked at me, "Good, I'm glad to hear it. But I don't believe you one hundred percent. I do believe that you'll try though" she gave me a hug as she said this.

_Nothing can save you now that it's over  
I guess that you'll find out when you're no one  
Don't say you're sorry now 'cause I just don't care_

_Nothing can save you now, nothing  
Nothing can save you now, nothing_

_Are you even listening when I talk to you?  
Do you even care what I'm going through?  
You're eyes stare and they're staring right through me  
You're right there but it's like you never knew me_

_Do you even know how much it hurt,  
That you gave up on me to be with her?  
Revenge is sweeter than you ever were  
(than you ever were)  
Revenge is sweeter than you ever were_

As the song finished blaring from inside the club I realized that it was oddly fitting.

"Is it just me, or was that song oddly fitting for the past few minutes?" Bex had turned to me and asked. Well I just snorted out laughing.

"Bex, did you just read my mind?" I asked.

"Nope, sorry Cam. Liz's mind reading ring hasn't come out of the prototype stage yet." She laughed.

Macey stood up pulling Liz with her. "Hey, we can't just sit here the entire night. Let's head back to the hotel." She whipped out a vanilla lip gloss reapplied and then threw three others at us. As we coated out lips we linked arms and strutted down the sidewalk, straight through the group of boys. Well they definitely noticed us then.

As I walked by Zach I was struck with an idea and a hint of confidence, something that was out of character for me. I smirked at him, which, gasp, he was surprised at. I got closer to his ear and whispered just so he, Grant, Jonas, and Derek could hear, "Better step up your game _Blackthorne Boy."_ With that I strutted down the street back to the hotel with my best friends, hoping that one day my broken heart would be healed.

As we set foot back into our hotel room we were attacked. No, not by terrorists, we were attacked by something even worse; eleven screaming Gallagher juniors who had heard there were Blackthorne Boys around.

"Is it true! Did you really see the Blackthorne Boys? Were they really with other girls?" Tina screeched.

Macey replied. "No Tina, we lied and staged the entire conversation over the comm units." She rolled her eyes. "Of course the Blackthorne Boys were there! You heard the entire conversation." She scoffed.

"OMG! What were they wearing? What did they do? What –"

"Tina! Shut up!" Bex yelled. "We aren't talking about this now" Bex's eyes flicked over to me and I gave her a grateful smile. "Right now we have a mission to continue."

Pushing my own personal thoughts aside I stood up, "Bex is right. We, um, can't dwell on that right now. We have other more important matters to take care of. So just forget the Blackthorne Boys, and let's get down to business." I said. I only wish I could take my own advice.

Liz pushed her fake glasses up the bridge of her nose and said, "Well I analyzed the different safes and I think we have to open the one in Kim's room first."

Following Liz's lead we went into the other hotel room and gathered around the safe. She turned the knob of the safe and entered the combination. The lock clicked and the door swung open to reveal yet another door. One by one, eight of us placed our palm prints on the cool metal to be scanned. The door swung open to reveal a few papers. Carefully taking out the papers Liz then proceeded to scan the inside of the safe for any remaining traces. Using an infrared light a new combination was found written on the inside wall. We shut the doors, and then began to look over the information.

I picked up the first paper and began to read:

**Welcome to your last checkpoint. I hope this note has reached you well, and if you are any good, then it has. To get to your final destination there have been four cars rented out for you to use for the remainder of your time. They are the Mercedes Benz E550, the BMW M5, the Porsche Panamera 4S and the Jaguar XFR. The remaining pages are copies of the directions to the location at which you will be staying. Be safe and watch your backs. – S.**

"Okay, I can't believe he just gave the location to us. And without more security too. That's weird." Macey said.

"Well not so fast Mace," Liz began. "The other safe combo was hidden in this safe and he knows that once it's closed it can't be opened again to run more tests. This safe must be a decoy." With the words decoy out of her mouth, fourteen Gallagher girls, including me, sprinted into the other hotel room.

Skidding to a stop in front of the safe I entered in the new combination and then eight of us proceeded to have our palm prints scanned. When the door opened a much larger stack of papers was revealed.

I gazed down at the top paper and smiled, "Liz, you were right, like always."

**Okay girls, this is the **_**real**_** last checkpoint and if you're reading this then good job. To get to your final destination there have been four cars rented out for you to use for the remainder of your time. They are the Mercedes Benz E550, the BMW M5, the Porsche Panamera 4S and the Jaguar XFR. Each of these cars has a navigation system installed into them. To bring up the directions to your true location, palm prints from two different girls riding in that car will have to be scanned on the engine and on the license plate. If you run into any trouble along the way then press the black button on the side of the navigation system. This will re-route the directions to confuse and allow you to lose, anyone in pursuit. For now, all you need to know is that you are going to a town just outside of Boston Massachusetts.**

**Also, you girls will not be working alone in your endeavors. We have decided that it would be best if you got partners to help you successfully complete the mission. You are working with fifteen Blackthorne juniors (see papers enclosed for more information). They will have already arrived at the destination by the time you girls get there, but they do not know that you are coming. We trust that you will work well together to ensure a smoother completion. **

**As you know your bags have already been sent ahead to home base. There you will be given unlimited access to all of the latest gadgets and software available. A super computer will be at the base in order for you to get the latest information on the terrorist group. Remember: don't let the terrorists get lucky, watch your back, and trust no one. – S **

I took out the keys from the envelope and passed around the letter to those who weren't reading over my shoulder. In about five seconds everyone was squealing about working with the Blackthorne Boys. In fact, that was all they were talking about for the next hour as they got ready for bed. Personally, I was dreading it.

We all have to do things in life that we don't want to, and for me this was one of them. I wasn't ready to see Zach's face again; to see his signature smirk and hear his cryptic remarks. I mean, it was only a few hours ago that I had seen him with another girl; only hours ago that I had learned the truth. These thoughts were pelting me from all sides. They were closing in, making me think unwelcome thoughts, and making my head heavy with anxiety.

I tried to push them away as I put on my iPod to the All American Rejects, headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth, and almost walked into Bex.

She stopped me and gave me a look that told me only a best friend could understand. "Hey Cam? Are you going to be okay tomorrow? And the next day? And the day after that? And-"

I put my hand up to stop her. "Bex, I can't guarantee anything, but you know I'll try. I don't want to feel like this. I don't want to feel weak"

"Cammie, having a broken heart doesn't mean that you're weak. It just means that you fell for someone, but they weren't good enough to see that. You'll feel better eventually. And if it helps, I can always beat him up for you" She wagged her eyebrows at the idea.

"Bex I don't really want you beating up people. Well, unless they're a terrorist that is." I gave her a hug "Thanks for the offer though."

"Anytime Cam," she started to walk away. As she reached the doorway to the bedroom she turned around and said, "You know where to find me if you change your mind though."

I walked into the bathroom and finished getting cleaned up. As I splashed water onto my face I grabbed onto the edges of the sink and looked into the mirror. In that moment I couldn't help but wonder about the past, about where I had gone wrong, and worry about the future, about the uncertainty that it held. I didn't know what the future would bring; my guesses were as valid as anyone else's. But this I was certain of; tomorrow was going to be a long day.

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**Okay, I feel like a bunch of you are hating me right now for this chapter! But, trust me, it was necessary. This story needed a little more conflict in it and well, I've had this chapter in mind for a few months. You just have to trust me on this one, that it will (hopefully!) make the story more interesting. But, I can't know what you're feeling unless you review. Tell me your thoughts on this chapter. Love it? Hete it? What do I need to no to improve my writing? I love getting input, and reviews are more than welcome.**

**Also, check out my profile page for my new poll! And **keep an eye out for a new Gallagher Girls oneshot I'm working on with some absolutly AMAZING writers! For more info see Teamswitzforever's profile page.****

**Until next time,**

**This is Just a Dream**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone, I'm back! Please don't hurt me for being away for so long. I really am sorry about that. Back in August I went on a trip to Italy and Greece with twenty of my classmates, and that was absolutly amazing! So, that put my writing on hold for a while. Then, when I got back I had mountains of summer homework that I barely conquered before I started school the first week of September. Once I started school my teachers attacked me with homework, and os the only time I have to write is on the weekends, and even then I'm still busy. I know you all don't want excuses, so they will end there. **

**I spent a lot of time on this chapter and I really hope that you like it. I don't know when my next update will be, but I will try my best so that it won't be another two month wait. to make up fot that this chapter is extra long. (Well to me it's extra long!) Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Nope, sorry. It doesn't belong to me. This all belongs to Ally C. **

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**Chapter 7**

I looked up into his emerald green eyes and sighed. He was slowly letting down his cocky façade and his eyes were the doors into his soul. I had traveled such a long distance and I wasn't leaving until I got the answers I wanted, the answers that I needed.

"Zach, can you just answer me this? Why? Why did you do it?" I asked willing my voice to stay strong.

He shook his head and looked toward the ground. Seconds passed until he ran a hand through his hair and raised his eyes to meet mine. He took a deep breath before he began, "Cam, I didn't want to hurt you. I," he took a deep breath, "I had a lapse of judgment-"

"Seemed like more than a lapse to me."

"Cammie, please let me finish," his eyes were pleading with me. "We all make bad decisions in life sometimes, and that was one of them. I know I hurt you; and that wasn't my intention. I don't really know what was. But what I do know was that I acted like an idiot, worse than an idiot. I don't know if you can forgive me. But what I do know is that you deserve to be with a better person than me." He gave me one last look before turning to walk away.

"Zach, wait!" I called after him. "What if I don't want someone better?" I said as I walked so that I was standing right before him. "What if I want you?"

Taking one more step I tilted my head towards his. Finally understanding what I was doing he wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned down to me. Our faces were mere inches apart and I closed the distance so that-

"Cammie?" I felt my body being shaken. "Cammie wake up or I'll go get Bex!"

I groaned and rolled over. Why did Liz have to go and wake me up from that dream? It was just getting good too. I opened my eyes only to be blinded by the intense mid-morning sunlight passing through the windows of our fourth floor hotel room. I huffed and walked to the bathroom in order to get ready.

As I began brushing my teeth Bex walked into the room and smiled at me. "Good, you're up."

I mumbled out an unintelligible reply.

"So…" she said drawing out the o's, "How was Zach?"

I gagged on the toothpaste in my mouth. Spitting it out I looked at Bex and tried to pretend that I had no idea what she was talking about. "Bex, how would I know? You were there last night and we all saw how well that went.

"Cammie, honestly, you can't hide the fact that you had a dream about him last night."

"Bex I have no idea what you're talking about."

She rolled her eyes at me, "Cam, you sleep talk. I heard you yell, 'Zach wait!' You can't lie to me" she smirked as the heat crept into my cheeks.

"Oh, wonderful" I replied.

"Yeah, well let's just hope that Liz comes up with a medicine to stop your sleep talking before you tell all of our secrets to the world" she said as she walked down the hall.

"Wait, Bex! What else did you hear?"

She laughed her mocha eyes sparkling, "Don't worry Cam; it was nothing of importance… this time."

With that she walked out of the door. Awesome, I can't believe I sleep talk. I'm a spy; I can't go around lying only to have the truth uncovered every time that I sleep. I mulled over possible ways to help with my situation while I finished getting ready. I put my wig, contacts and make up from last night back on. I changed into a pair of dark wash jeans and yellow shirt with a cropped jacket over it. I slipped into a pair of black high heels (I officially think that Macey is out to kill me with these shoes) and walked out to the living room. I picked up an apple from the fruit bowl and ate while I waited for everyone else to finish getting ready. Fifteen minutes and forty seven seconds later everyone was sitting in the living room waiting to leave.

"Okay we all went over the plan last night and you know the instructions that Solomon left for us. And remember if there is an emergency mass text 'Party at 8:00' so we can turn our comms on" I began telling everyone as I passed out the car keys. Everyone nodded in response and we grabbed our gear and left.

After checking out of the hotel Macey, Bex, Liz and I all walked over to the Porsche. Bex ran up from behind me and plucked the car keys out f my hands.

She turned around and yelled out, "I'm driving!"

I shook my head and let out an exasperated sigh. "Bex you can't drive. With the way you drive we'll all be dead before we even make in out of the city."

She pouted and said "I'm not that bad a driver Cam."

"Ha. That's the funniest thing that I've ever heard. Do you even remember the time when you were driving in Mr. S's beloved car and as you were turning a corner you sideswiped a mailbox? If Solomon didn't know how to keep his emotions in check I'm pretty sure he would have broken down crying" Macey pointed out.

"Yeah, but that was only one time" Bex said.

Liz scurried up next to me barely managing not to trip over her own feet and began, "But what about that time you were pulling the school car out of the parking spot at the mall? You scraped the side of a BMW and then wrote the number they should call in red lipstick on their windshield because you didn't have paper and a pen."

"But-"

I interrupted her before she could continue, "Need I remind you about that time-"

"Fine I get it!" She cut me off before I could finish my sentence. "You all think I suck at driving. I guess Cammie can drive" she threw the keys back and I caught them in one swift motion.

"Thank you" I smirked at her. By then we had made it to where the car was parked. All we had to do now was scan our palm prints into the car. Trying to be inconspicuous, Liz and Macey pretended that they dropped an earring on the ground and scanned their prints into the license plate. Bex and I walked up to the car and popped the hood. While checking the oil we scanned our prints on the engine and waited until a green light appeared. Gently closing the hood I went to the driver's side of the car and Bex got in next to me. I turned the key in the ignition and the car roared to life.

Bex put in the new All American Rejects CD as I pulled out onto the streets of New York City and began heading for the highway. We settled into a comfortable silence, listening to the music and getting lost in our own thoughts.

Three CD's, one coffee break, and an hour spent singing later; we were almost there with an hour left in our journey. It had been a relatively uneventful journey. In fact the entire mission up to this point hadn't involved much action. And of course, as soon as those words passed through my head our luck had to change.

From the rearview mirror I saw Liz's eyes scan out the back window quickly and then look straight ahead. She started twirling her hair between her fingers as she spoke up, "Hey Cam? Do you-"

"Yeah, I see them," I responded before she even finished her sentence. As I used the rearview mirror to scan the road behind the car my eyes once again landed on the black car that was following us. "They've been behind us for a half hour. Every time that I change lanes they do the same. We need to tell everyone else to be on alert."

"Already done," Bex said as she flipped her phone shut. "They should be on comms by now."

"Thanks Bex" I reached up and pushed some hair behind my ears, turning my comm unit on at the same time. "This is Chameleon, is anyone else there?"

I heard a chorus of replies before Tina spoke up, "What's the sitch?"

Bex beat me to the response, "Tina, you honestly have to stop stealing lines from Kim Possible."

All I heard was "Humph" from Tina.

I stifled a laugh as Bex looked at me and rolled her eyes. "Anyways, as I was saying," Bex continued, "We have a little situation. There's a black car, license plate 27KM3B, following us. It's been on our tail for thirty three minutes and twenty seven seconds. We wanted to let everyone know to be on alert. We'll be taking an alternate route to try and shake them off."

"Okay, thanks guys. We'll change up our route a little to shake anyone who might be behind us off. See you there" Anna said. They all then shut their comms units off.

I took a deep breath, "Alright, I'm gonna try and lose them before rerouting our directions"

I stepped on the gas and eased the speed up to seventy five miles an hour. Scanning the mirrors, I changed lanes pulling right in front of a semi-wide trailer. There wasn't enough room for the black car to pull up behind us so they accelerated to match our speed and drove alongside us. I sped up once again so that our car was between two trailers. I felt uneasy about being sandwiched between the two trucks. My field of vision was blocked both in front and behind me, so I had to rely on the brake lights of the two trucks to alert me to the current traffic situation. However, when there was an opening in the right lane I quickly merged and sped off the exit ramp.

Bex looked at me, her eyes wide, "Cam, that was bloody brilliant!"

Liz's voice shook when she spoke, "Yeah, it was brilliant, but let's never do that again."

For the next five minutes I drove in and out of side streets in the small rural town that the exit had led to. "Well, I think we lost them so I'm going to get back onto the highway" and with that I found the on ramp and merged back into traffic.

I was glad we had lost the people in pursuit so quickly and easily. Maybe they weren't following us after all.

"Shit."

"Macey! Language!" Liz scolded in the backseat.

"Jeeze, Liz I'm sorry, but it seemed appropriate seeing as our tails are back" she discreetly pointed her thumb towards the back window and sure enough the car was back.

"Agh!" I let out a frustrated groan. "How did they find us again?"

I heard the furious clicking of keys before Liz spoke, "Uh oh."

"Uh oh? What do you mean 'uh oh'?" Bex asked, her accent getting thicker with each syllable.

"Well, I was using my software to do a scan of the car and it appears that a small tracker was placed on the license plate. The good news is that we're the only car with a tracker on it. The bad news is that unless we remove it the black car will be able to find us anywhere we go."

"Shit."

"Macey!"

"Sorry Liz, I just deemed it a swear-worthy situation."

I decided to butt into their conversation, "Macey, Liz, focus. We need to get rid of the tracker device and lose the tail" I thought for a few minutes before I finally settled on a plan, "Here is what we're gonna do. I'll pull into a rest stop and get gas. Hopefully the tail will follow. While I'm pretending to pump gas, Bex I want you to wash the windshields. First the front, and then when you go to the back discreetly remove the tracker. Liz, you make sure they don't put any more trackers on the car. Does that sound like an alright plan?"

Bex gave me a devious grin, "Sounds awesome"

As soon as the opportunity was open I slowly sped up the car. The trees on either side of the highway blurred together into a wall of green with light hints of reds and yellows as autumn set in. I constantly scanned the road, taking in my surroundings, memorizing each and every detail about the landscape that passed us by.

In a matter of minutes a service station was visible up ahead. I quickly changed lanes with the black car still behind us, trying its best not to look suspicious. I exited the highway and drove into the gas station, pulling up to the pump farthest to the exit. Pulling into the pump opposite us was the black car. We slipped into our covers and prepared ourselves to play the parts.

At the exact same time Macey, Bex and I opened the doors and exited the car. I did a quick scan of my surroundings and planned out any emergency routes. I turned around just as the attendant was walking towards us.

"Hi, I'd like to fill up the tank please. I'll just pay you now though and pump my own gas if that's ok" I said.

The attendant gave me a once over and put his hand up to fix his Boston Red Sox hat before replying, "Yes ma'am, that's fine. That will be forty dollars."

As I began to pull out the money Bex ran over and stopped me. "Wait, I want to wash the windows. They look gross and you know how I hate when there's dirt on the car" she said as she flipped her hair over her shoulder and gave the attendant a dazzling smile.

His eyes momentarily glazed over at the sight of Bex, but soon he shook his head and replied with a lopsided grin, "Don't worry about paying. It will be on me."

"Oh that's so nice of you, thanks" Bex said as she turned up the charm.

"N-no problem" the attendant replied before walking away.

Bex turned on her heel and quickly began washing the windows. I stood at the pump pretending to be getting gas but out of the corner of my eye I could see the other car filling up their tank, and they still had a long way to go. Soon Bex walked to the back window, quickly washed it and gave me a slight nod to alert me that the tracker had been removed. I removed the gas pump, and sat back in the driver's seat. I started the car and peeled out before the other car had a chance to finish pumping their gas. I quickly sped out onto the highway and left the other car behind.

Flying down the highway with the colors and sounds rushing by Bex positioned herself at the open window. She took the tracker and attached it to a launcher. Quickly scanning the road, Bex shot the tracker and had it land on the bumper of a car that was exiting the highway. Everyone in the car let out a sigh of relief. The tracker was out of our hands and hopefully so was the tails. Driving for another half hour I took the car off the road and met up with the rest of the group.

The car purred along the roads as we twisted and turned through the quaint Massachusetts town. Time felt as if it was almost standing still and calmness enveloped everyone and everything; well, everything except for my stomach. My stomach was in knots and butterflies flitted around in its depths, the nerves trying to make their way through the rest of my body. I was nervous to have to work with the Blackthorne Boys, to live with them, and see them in less than ten minutes.

As I try and mentally prepare myself we drive up to the underground garage of one of the largest houses I have ever seen, and that's saying something when you're best friends with Macey McHenry. I look behind me to see the other juniors following behind. As I park we all jump out of the cars.

Walking over to the elevator Liz speaks, "Oh my goodness! This house is going to be huge, and I can't believe we're going to be living with the Blackthorne boys!" This simple statement led to the chatter and squealing of fifteen girls getting ready to face teenage boys.

However, the chatter stopped as we each scanned our palm prints and typed passwords into the side of the elevator. Hearts racing, we all stepped in and got ready for a full body scan.

I looked at Macey, needing to hear some advice, "Mace, what should we expect up there?"

"Well, I may not be able to tell you from the spy perspective, but from the girl perspective, be prepared. Teenage boys equal hormones, and hormones equal unpredictability. We're in for a long ride."

I held my breath for the forty seven second ride to the top. The elevator dinged, the doors opened, and light washed over all of us. We were not expecting what lay beyond the door; we were not expecting complete and total silence. We filed out into the marble counter topped kitchen and did a quick scan of our surroundings.

Seeming worried, Liz asked, "Where is everybody?"

But before anyone could open their mouth to say that they didn't know, her question was answered by cheers coming from down the hall. I beckoned everyone forward and gave Bex a smirk which she returned. We were both excited to have the element of surprise. We made it to the white double door at the end of the hall. Taking a deep breath we flung them both open to be met by the shocked and cool stares of fifteen teenage boys.

Grant, Zach, Jonas and Derek stepped forward; they were all subtly getting in fighting position.

Grant, an eyebrow furrowed, opened his mouth, "What the hell? Who are you?"

Bex replied with mock hurt in her voice as, she, Liz, Macey and I stepped forward to mirror their stance. "What? You don't know who we are? I'm really surprised Granty."

They all tried to mask their confusion as we stifled our laughter. I gave everyone the signal and we quickly removed our disguises. Their eyes began to bug out and we gave them cocky grins.

With a hand on her hip and a devious glint in her eyes Bex uttered the words, "Hello boys, we're your new housemates."

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**Well, I've done my job so now its time to do yours. Hit that green button down there and give me a review please. =) I accept all reviews, and would really love to know what you liked, what you hated. Was it good or was it bad? All you need to do is hit the button and leave a little (or long ;] ) comment for me. I appreciate it! And I will give all reviews a Christian Ozera...or any other character of your choice ;)**

**Thanks! And remember,**

**This is Just a Dream.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone! Sorry it takes such a long time between updates. I'm being swamped with homework and have no time to write.**

**I'd just like to say thank you to all of my absolutly amazing reviewers! You all are the best and it means so much to me that you take the time to leave a comment. It's because of all of you that I made myself sit down and finish this chapter tonight. Hope it lives up to your standards. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed.**

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**Chapter 8**

To say that the looks on their faces weren't priceless would be a complete and utter lie. Every single male in the room reacted at the news that Bex just delivered and I was extremely glad that I was there to witness their facial expressions. Some gasped, others swore, but mostly jaws just dropped as they stared at us hysterically laughing. It seemed as if an eternity had passed before anyone spoke again.

Grant, with his sleeves rolled up and eyebrows scrunched together in confusion spoke first, "Wait, so why are you here?"

"Are you really that dense Grant?" Macey said as she rolled her eyes. "We're here to work with you on the mission" she replied in such a way that you could hear the unspoken "duh" hanging at the end of her sentence.

"But we don't need help" he shot back at her.

Bex shook her head and answered, "First off, we were sent on this mission by Solomon, and second of all, you obviously do need help, you didn't even recognize us last night" Grant's face blanched white and Zach's pupils dilated for a second, not that I was watching him or anything. "But now that I think of it, that's a good thing. It proves we actually are better spies."

Of course Zach had to give his input, "How do you know if we didn't see you or not? We just pretended not to see you."

"Lie." I spoke up for the first time since we got there causing heads to spin in my direction.

"Oh really Gallagher Girl? Well, why don't you enlighten us with your thoughts?"

That name, Gallagher Girl. That simple name that had followed me in my sleep for the past months was uttered once again. Those two simple words froze me in my place, even if only for milliseconds. I took a deep breath to regain composure and drew in some confidence from Bex's reassuring smile, "I know because when Bex mentioned that we saw you last night Grant's face blanched and your pupils dilated. I know because we're good, and because we're spies."

Picking up on the frustrated vibe I must have been sending out, which by the way was not good seeing as I should be able to keep my emotions in check, Liz spoke up in her timid voice to try and get us back on track, "Umm, you guys, we need to check in with Solomon."

"Oh, right." I had completely forgotten. It was as if my spy skills were slowly being shut off.

Twitching and red faced, Jonas was the first to break the invisible barrier between the boys and us as he went to stand by Liz. "I can show you guys where the headquarters is"

"Thanks Jonas," Liz said as her face slowly began to turn pink.

He turned and walked out of the entertainment room and down the hall. We passed by six closed white doors before we made it back out to the kitchen area. Jonas took another turn leading the group following behind him into a foyer filled with light. The room was breathtaking as the suns warm rays highlighted the colors of the Oriental rug and the ornate glass vases and bowls. We ascended the marble staircase that branched off in two directions in the middle, only to lead to the same floor. At the top there were two double doors at both ends of the landing and one right in the middle.

"Come on, it's right this way," Jonas told us as he walked toward the middle door.

"Hey Jonas?"

"Yeah Cammie?"

"Where do the other two doors lead to?"

He stopped walking for a moment and turned around to us. "Well that door over there on the left side of the staircase leads to our bedrooms and bathrooms," he explained "but we don't know what the right door leads to." He sighed in frustration.

"You don't know what it leads to? Can't you just pick the lock?" Eva asked.

"Well, we tried. I think it might be password protected. There were so many codes and inventions that I used but nothing worked."

He gave one last disappointed look at the right door before continuing through the middle one. We were led down another two hallways filled with doors and even went in some and out through another on the opposite side of the room. I committed every twist, turn and movement to memory.

The trip seemed like it would never end until, after climbing through what appeared to be a closet, we made it to a reading room. It had a quaint looking couch and plush chairs scattered around the room with a few bookcases against the walls. I quickly scanned the room and noticed there were no other doors. That could only mean we were going through a secret passageway; my specialty.

My suspicions were confirmed when Jonas walked up the fireplace, flipped open a pocket knife and scraped one of the bricks. He then looked up directly at the portrait hanging above the mantle for what appeared to be an eye scan. The back inside wall of the fireplace then moved aside and revealed a large elevator which we all squeezed into and descended into the headquarters.

Quiet murmurs filled the air as we waited for the doors to open. When they did there was a collective gasp from all of the girls as we entered a cool room with metal tables, a giant computer screen taking up an entire wall, and another lined with all of the latest gadgets.

I felt Bex's presence next to me before she whispered, "This is bloody brilliant."

And I had to agree. The room was large enough to comfortably fit everyone and was as high tech as any lab or headquarters that I had ever seen, and that included the sublevels. My eyes scanned the room and ended up landing on Zach. He was staring right at me with an unreadable expression, studying me as if I were an organism under a microscope. I was uncomfortable under his gaze and quickly averted my eyes to the screen that was making a connection with what was most likely Solomon. Seven point eight seconds later his towering structure filled the screen, his steely gray eyes sweeping the room.

His strong voice traveled through the speakers and filled the air, "Ladies, it is good to see that you all made it safely and I'm sure the gentlemen were quite," he took a moment to choose his word carefully and a slight grin tugged on the corner of his mouth before he finished his though, "surprised at your presence. Is there anything to report it?"

I looked up into his eyes on the screen, "Yes Ms. Morgan is there something you wish to share?"

"We were tailed again Mr. Solomon. A black car, license plate 27KM3B was behind us as we drove through Massachusetts" I dutifully reported back to him, maintaining eye contact the entire time.

"I figured as much, the navigation system from the Porsche reported to us that you had rerouted the directions-"

"Wait, they got a Porsche?" Grant interrupted from the background.

I turned around in time to see Grant get slapped on the side of the head by Zach as he hissed, "Dude, shut the hell up."

"We didn't get a Porsche." Grant mumbled as he lowered his gaze to the floor and Zach slapped him upside the head once more.

Mr. Solomon sent a glare in Grant's direction before he continued speaking, "Am I correct in saying that the rerouted directions was how you lost your tail?"

"Actually, sir, you're wrong" I told him. I could hear the quiet and curious whispers from the boys start up. "We rerouted the directions but they had a tracker on our car. We pulled into a gas station and pretended to get gas. They followed us and actually started pumping gas."

"Then I took off the tracker off our car and we sped out of there," Bex said as she continued on for me, "As Cammie was driving I shot the tracker on to another car that was going in a different direction from us. We switched roads and came here."

"Is there anything else that you should tell me?"

I thought for a moment, flashing back to the moment at the gas station, "The tails paid with a credit card and they appeared to be teenagers."

"They got sloppy; we need to take advantage of that. What you all will be dealing with is a group of highly trained terrorists. They may be teenagers, but they have had five more years of experience then everyone standing in that room" Mr. Solomon told us his voice hard and serious.

"We have learned in the past 48 hours that they have a base in Massachusetts, although their headquarters is in Italy. You have one month to find out where their Mass base and retrieve the information before they bring it back to Italy. Use what you know and don't let your guards down." He looked like he was about to shut the monitor off before he said, "Oh, and ladies, you should find you rooming arrangements unlocked." He gave a slight smile before the screen went blank.

The room was silent for a minute before the sound of Liz clicking away at her laptop filled the room. We all turned to look at her as she happily said, "All done!"

Macey raised an eyebrow, "What exactly are you 'all done!' with?"

"I just hacked the gas station for the credit card number. I set up a program so that all of their purchases will show up here. That way we can see if they have any habits and we can go to the places that they visit on a regular basis and try to get information."

"That's great Liz," Jonas said in a shy voice, "It was a really smart idea." With the compliment they both turned bright pink and Liz looked up at him from under her eyelashes and gave a shy smile.

"Umm hate to break up the love fest but I'm tired and I want to get my clothes that were supposed to be shipped here," Macey announced. "Do you boys know where our rooms are? I mean you must have noticed the extra bedrooms?"

All of the boys looked around at each other, not quite sure what to say. How had they not noticed the extra bedrooms and our clothes? I mean, I heard Grant say earlier that they had been at the house for a few days and were flown to New York yesterday to pick up some, as he put it, "stuff".

I stood there, my fingers playing with the necklace I had on, until it all came together. "I know where our rooms are."

"Cam how do you know, we just got here." Macey asked me.

I considered responding with "spy" but then decided to just let them know. "You know that door on the right hand side that was locked? Well I'm betting that our rooms are down there."

We all quickly piled into the elevator and went back the way we came, running the entire distance to the doors. Bex and I got there first and together we each took hold of a doorknob and threw the doors open.

The short hallway was lined with plush white carpet and five doors, two on one side, three on another. At the end of the hallway there was another door opened that opened to a glassed in room filled with couches, beanbag chairs and a television. Bex and I turned around and found our room with Macey already inside unpacking.

The room was about the same size as our suite back at Gallagher. It was painted a pale yellow color and had the same white carpet as the hallway. I ran across the room and dove onto a bed claiming it as mine. Yawning, I stretched out and closed my eyes.

"Cam, aren't you going to unpack?" Macey asked from across the room.

"Nope, right now I'm taking a nap."

"Alright, suit yourself."

I closed my eyes and let the dreams overtake me. Sleep didn't last for long because twenty minutes later I woke up to the sound of laughter. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes I padded down the hall to find Courtney, Eva, Anna, Tina, and a few other girls giggling at a movie and primping, which I assumed was for the boys.

Turning around I decided to take advantage of my time and search for some secret passages. I liked the time on my own because it allowed my thoughts to wander. Looking for secret passages was always an activity that I took comfort in back at Gallagher. It was an adventure to me. Some people get freaked out by wandering alone, unsure of what they may find hidden in the walls and beneath the floors, but I take comfort in it. It calms me down, and establishes a sense of reality. It reminds me that everyone has their secrets, but if you know where to look you can find them. You may not like what is hidden behind the doors, but that's a chance that you have to take sometimes.

Except, real life isn't always like hunting for passages. In real life the secrets are intangible, protected inside of people by walls that they put themselves and only come down when they choose. Sure, with some people, like Tina Walters, the secrets, or at least the unimportant ones, are easier to get at. Maybe that's because she's more trusting than most, a more open heart, less wall to have to navigate, less keys to discover for the locked doors. But then there are people like Zach Goode. The walls inside of him stretch out for miles, the doors needing not only a key but a password and a DNA test to get at them. He is person who doesn't hand out trust like Santa hands out presents on Christmas. The less people he lets in, the less vulnerability he sets himself up for. And I guess that's the way he likes it. Just like mansions and castles have their hidden passages people have their secrets too, both to lessen the pain, to stop the vulnerability, to protect themselves.

My thought process was interrupted when I heard shouts coming through a vent in one of the rooms that I had wandered into. I pushed aside the chair that was covering it and unwound the screws. I removed the grate and shimmied my way inside the cool and dusty metal hoping it would hold my weight. I carefully pulled the chair back in front and leaned the grate against the wall so I could get back out later. Taking out my cell phone to use as a flashlight I crawled in the direction of the voices through the twists and turns of the vent system.

I finally reached the opening where the voices were coming from and looked down at the room. It looked like the room at the end of the girl's hallway except the window faced a different direction and instead of squealing girls, Grant, Jonas, Zach and Derek were lounged across the couches.

Derek ran a hand through his hair and sat up, "Guys why was I not told that Macey is a spy?"

Zach shrugged and replied in a bored voice, "Didn't think it was important."

"What the hell? Why didn't you think it was important?"

"I dunno dude, she became a spy about the same time you did and we figured that you guys are 'so tight' as you mentioned earlier that she would tell you on her own. Guess you were wrong seeing that she slapped you five minutes ago."

I laughed to myself hearing that. Macey must have taken care of some business while I was asleep.

Derek gave him an evil glance, "Shut up dude. No one likes you anyway."

"Oh right, that's why you guys are sitting in here with me, because no one likes me. Nice comeback Elkridge."

"People do like you Zach, like those girls from last night." Grant said as he attempted to stick up for Zach.

Derek shook his head, "That doesn't count Grant; those girls were just for a cover. Even if that tramp did like him it's not as if he would lower her standards to date her."

I digested the news. A cover, an op; that's all last night was to them. A small weight in my chest lifted and I felt myself smiling. It was nice to know that he wasn't dating that girl, not like I was planning on letting him get to me again.

I looked back down and Zach had a look of mock surprise on his face, his hands at his heart, "Aww, so now you're complimenting me? That's sweet Derek."

"Goode you're an ass."

Zach smirked, "The one and only."

Jonas rolled his eyes and said, "You two are so annoying."

Zach opened his eyes wide, "He lives! Jonas we thought we lost you over there. Must have been thinking about a certain someone."

"Let me guess, does her name rhyme with Miz Mutton?" Grant asked

I watched as Jonas's face took on a bright pink color, "Well at least I talked to her. You two didn't even talk to Bex and Cammie."

"Shut it Jonas. I'm going to talk to Bex; I just have to figure out how to tell her that I like her."

"And I did talk to Cammie earlier," Zach said. The other three suddenly became very interested. "If you remember correctly she called me out on not recognizing them last night, and we had a nice little argument."

Jonas shook his head, "Zach that doesn't count when are you going to tell her –"

At that moment the vent system decided to groan cutting Jonas off. I started to crawl backwards as I heard Grant ask, "What was that?" I quickly made my way back to where I entered and closed up the vent. I walked back to my room and flopped on the bed again as Bex, Liz and Macey gave me weird looks.

"Where were you?" Liz asked.

"Umm, well I was wandering around looking for secret passages when I heard voices through a vent. So I crawled through the system to see Derek, Jonas, Grant and Zach talking. Turns out that those girls last night were all a cover, Grant like you Bex, and Macey you have a very nice slap, Derek has a red handprint on his face. Oh, and I think he likes you because apparently he once said you were, and I quote, "tight". And Jonas likes Liz." I finished with a flourish.

They all started talking at me at once and I tried to answer their question as best I could.

"Wait Cam, did Zach say anything about you?" Bex asked.

I pushed the hair out of my eyes and sighed, "Well, Jonas was about to say that Zach had to tell me something, but before he could finish his sentence the vent made a noise and I had to leave before they found me."

Bex came by and sat next to me, "Well don't worry Cam, we're going to be here for a while and we have plenty of time to find out their secrets, and make Zach like you. It might just have to involve some bugs in their room, rope, tweezers, and high heels. It doesn't have to be that method, but one way or another we will learn his secrets." She finished with a glint in her eyes.

Oh, fantastic.

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**Well, there was chapter 8.**

**What did you think? Good, bad, boring? Review please!**

**Oh, and right now, it's snowing where I live. Isn't that awesome? Like a winter wonderland =)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note...**

**Hey everyone. So, yeah. This is the first time I've updated since about November. And for that I'm really sorry to those individuals who actually enjoyed reading my story. I know you probably don't wanna hear excuses, so I'll keep it brief. This past school year had been really hard on me. It was my junior year and I took all of the hardest classes that my school offers for juniors. Yeah, I'm crazy, but I'm also super competitive about my grades and such. So, because of that I was doing homework for at least six hours a night. I didn't get much sleep and I had no time to relax. Why didn't I just write on weekends? Well, I had work, homework, and I tried to spend time with my friends. Oh, and I would try and catch up on sleep. So I was pretty much busy 24/7. But as of last Wednesday (June 16) I'm free on summer vacation. Erm, kinda. I still have summer homework for the five AP classes I'm taking next year, but I don't really want to talk about that right now. I should have found time to write, and I'm sure there are plenty of you out there with a rigorous schedule that managed to write, but I just couldn't do it. It was too overwhelming. **

**But, anyways I'm back. Well, for the summer at least. I'm going to do my best to try and finish the story this summer, even if no one reads it anymore. I want to finish it for myself at least. I really hope someone out there enjoys this story though. **

**So, well that was my kinda long author's note. If you have any questions, concerns, wanna chat, or just want to say hi, then PM me. I don't bite, I promise. I'm just trying to weave my way back into the fanfiction community. **

**Enjoy. :)**

**Disclaimer: Disclaimed.**

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**Chapter 9**

I bolted upright and opened my eyes to a pitch black room. Sweat matted my hair against my head and the pajamas I had worn to bed clung to my skin. My recurring nightmare had decided to visit me once again and, as always, it shattered my subconscious and destroyed any hopes for further sleep. I rolled over to see the clock flip to 4:00. Sighing, I pulled myself out of bed and walked to the bathroom to wash my face and put on Soffe shorts and a new tank top. But even the cool water against my skin didn't relieve the stress of the nightmare. The water may rinse the sweat down the drain but it didn't do anything for the memories. Those remained. Every time I had the nightmare it played on a constant loop for the next few hours. The piercing scream, the sulfuric odor, the deep gray smoke dancing in wisps, the metallic plink of a gun cartridge hitting the ground, the deep red blood pooling along the ground, the blood of my father.

I started having this nightmare soon after my dad left on his last mission. The first time that it happened I woke up screaming and started crying. It seemed so real with its vivid details that attacked my senses. The nightmare had haunted me for the following week and then I started to forget about it until it replayed a month later. Again, I woke up screaming in the night. Every month the dream repeats with the same details, the same sounds, the same outcome; the death of my father. However, now instead of waking up screaming it just causes me to break out into a sweat and then it numbs my feelings. Even though I've had the dream so many times, the pain it causes is still an emotional blow. I can't ignore the feelings but I know the only way to try and lessen the pain is to keep my mind busy.

Desire for a distraction is how I found myself wandering the house at such an early hour. With everyone else asleep it was a perfect time to finish my exploration of the house that got interrupted earlier from listening in on the conversation that the boys were having. I walked out of the girls' wing and through the set of double doors at the top of the landing. My feet carried me down the hallway and I decided to take the third door on the right.

The brass doorknob sent a chill through my body as I gently pushed the door open. The room held two floor to ceiling bookcases, a deep brown leather couch, and a dark mahogany desk in front of elegant French windows. A shaft of light from the moon shone in and illuminated the desk.

I walked over and sat in the high backed chair looking at the contents on the desk's surface. An old calendar, pens, and random papers littered the surface. I put my feet down on the floor beneath the desk to pull myself closer but something didn't sound right. I tapped my feet on the ground once more to hear a faint hollow sound smothered by the carpet.

I went down on my knees and looked under the desk. I ran my hands along the carpet and felt a thin cut in the shape of a large square. Gripping the material I gently tugged the square up from the ground revealing a ladder that extended down the dark shaft. I slowly lowered myself onto the ladder and climbed down so that I could replace the flooring back on the opening. I continued my descent and jumped the last few steps into a dark room lit only by a few old fake lanterns on the wall. Dust clung to the scarlet walls and the well worn couches. Similar to almost every other room in the house there were bookcases scattered around. A large table was pushed to one side of the room and was filled with papers beginning to yellow and fade.

As I got closer to the table I noticed an old photo album and began to flip through the pages. There were images of old agents and some newspaper clipping. I slowly turned the pages until one image made my heart sputter. Staring back at me was a picture of my parents smiling and laughing, and standing next to them was Mr. and Mrs. Goode. I read the caption and the picture was dated way back before Zach and I were born. Our parents were still in high school; it was their junior year. The freeze frame captured the moment with a clarity that no other picture could manage. The carefree laughter and the joy radiating from their bodies coupled with a spark of knowledge in their eyes and strength and determination in their body language. I flipped the page again. The next picture was of my parents and the Goodes in graduation robes on the day of their commencement. Another flip and my parents were getting married. Another flip and the Goode's were getting married. The worn paper crinkled as I turned the page once more. My breath caught as my eyes zeroed in on the picture before me; a black and white picture of Zach and me holding hands when we were babies.

How could my parents have kept this from me? Wait, the answer to that is easy; they're spies. Maybe a better question is why they would want to keep this from me. Why wasn't I informed that Zach and I had met before that day in Washington DC? I knew that my parents were friends with Zach's parent, at least while they were still in school. But, for some reason it never occurred to me that they remained such close friends outside of school that Zach and I hung out at least once as children. It was another secret that was woven into the threads of my life, another piece of the puzzle hidden. Would my mom have ever told me? I would have to ask when the mission was over. Why didn't she tell me? It's another question that I pondered over.

I sat there mulling over the possible answers when I heard a noise. My head snapped up just as the lights turned on. As my pupils adjusted I darted behind a bookcase with the sound of my beating heart echoing in my ears. I peered around the bookcase only to lock in on a set of deep emerald green eyes. I knew those eyes and my heart quickened as I observed their owner.

Zach.

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